Pinkerton Academy’s boys’ and girls’ track and field squads both put forth strong performances at the Division I state championships at Winnacunnet High School in Hampton Friday, May 27.
The academy males were outdistanced only by the Concord High Crimson Tide in their hunt for a state title, with Concord tallying a team score of 91 points to the runner-up Astros’ 85.
The Lady Astros also bagged a top-five finish by amassing 43 points to end up fifth behind the champions from Bedford (96), Nashua South (67), Londonderry (61), and Bishop Guertin of Nashua (45).
BOYS
Sophomore standout Jadyn Ruimwijk stood up tall at the center of the Pinkerton guys’ effort, winning the 400-meter dash (time of 50.76 seconds) and contributing to the victory of his squad’s great 4×100 quartet along with Evan Rodgers, T.J. Urbanik, and Nico Buccieri (43.43). Ruimwijk also snagged a third place in the 200-meter dash.
Other top-three finishes were claimed by the Astros’ 4×800 relay team (second), Tom Hanlon in the 800-meter run (third), Nick Sevilla in the 3,200-meter run (third), and Zach Sullivan in the javelin (third).
“Reflecting on the meet, we had some very good performances,” said PA coach Carol Quarles. “We came up a little short, but I couldn’t be more proud of these kids. We have not been known in the past for throwing, but our javelin throwers did a great job adding points with three guys scoring. Zach Sullivan broke our school record twice, along with Colin Bigelow, who broke it the week before and again last night. The surprise of the day came when Ben Clough, who had not jumped over 10’6″ (in the pole vault), placed fourth with a jump of 12′.”
GIRLS
The Lady Astros got great work from junior hurdling standout Maria Virga, who finished first in the 110-meter hurdles (15.91) and second in the 300 hurdles. The locals also received a second place from Amelia Graves in the javelin.
Pinkerton sophomore track and field star Jadyn Ruimwijk stood tall for his Astros at the Division I title meet late last week. The talented 10th grader contributed some key points for the PA crew, which finished second overall. Photo by Chris Paul
